Westbank Projects Corp., the Vancouver developer who built Toronto’s 65-storey Shangri La hotel, has signed a deal to purchase Honest Ed’s, according to media reports on Sunday.

News of the looming deal had been swirling around the city, with councillor Michael Laton saying last week that the Vancouver developer was “very interested” in buying the iconic discount emporium.

“I have now chatted a couple of times with [Ian Gillespie, chief executive of Westbank],” Mr. Layton said Friday. “They were moving forward.”

In July Russell Lazar, general manager of Honest Ed’s, confirmed that the building and the land around it are for sale. He said the retailer at Bathurst and Bloor streets will operate for years to come.

Also in July, City Council slapped an interim control bylaw on Bathurst Street, from Dupont to Queen Street, which stops any further development on the stretch for a year while the city debates its future.

David Mirvish, the only child of Ed and Anne Mirvish, who founded Honest Ed’s, owns the store. The deal with Westbank will close later this year, Mr. Mirvish told the Globe and Mail. But he said the approvals process for the development would take approximately two to three years, during with time Honest Ed’s will continue to operate.

Councillors Layton and Adam Vaughan held a meeting last month to discuss what people would like to see at the Honest Ed’s site.

“Folks understand that this is a good area for some kind of density,” Mr. Layton said. “They weren’t in favour of large towers like in the downtown core. There is concern that the character of Markham Street might be lost.”

On its website Westbank calls itself, “Canada’s Premier Real Estate Developer,” although all but two of its buildings are in British Columbia. Westbank did not return requests for comment on Sunday.